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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-2 |
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For the love of writing
Kundabala Mala
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
| Date of Web Publication | 21-Jun-2014 |
Correspondence Address:
Kundabala Mala
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Mangalore, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2229-5194.134992
How to cite this article:
Mala K. For the love of writing. J Interdiscip Dentistry 2014;4:1-2 |
"The search for truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty."
-Madame de Stael
At risk of sounding such as a broken gramophone record, doing good, constructive research work is the need of the hour. Equally important, nay, more important is to go ahead and publish your work. The process of publication will make you learn something about writing. When, and please note that I do not say "If," your work is published, read by your peers, corroborated or refuted, commended or denigrated, you will learn something more about your work than you already know. There will be favorable comments and some not-so-favorable comments. There will be rejections. The comments and the rejections should be and will be your stepping stones to more and better publications. You will learn. Even if your article is rejected, the reason for rejection given by the editor will help you to improve your manuscript. With every publication you will grow in confidence and you will acquire the requisite skills for successful publication.
When you plan to start writing any scientific article, go through the articles, which will guide you how to go about writing, the steps involved and a check-list to ascertain whether your article complies with the set norms and requirements of standard journals.
The process of preparing an article and submitting it to various journals is one which you may approach initially as a chore to perform, but it does not take long to become something that you will approach with anticipation and even pleasure. It is not easy in the beginning. However when you learn and then master the basic protocol and subtleties of submission of a manuscript, the anticipation of acceptance becomes a pleasure to look forward to. Submit to different journals every time.
Your first rejection may cause some disappointment. But you will soon recover from that rejection when another journal accepts it after you have done the appropriate modifications. Even after many publications you will have to face rejection once in a while. But by that time you would have learnt the philosophy of the journal and psychology of its editors. Ultimately, however, it is the quality of your work associated with the quality of your writing which will merit the favor of the editors. As the quality of your articles improve, try to get them published in peer reviewed journals with high impact factor.
Hence keep writing and submit to publish. Do the suggested corrections patiently without blaming reviewers and editors. Even though, it may face rejection, you will still learn from the experience. Learn by your mistakes. Learn by submitting more and more work for publication. And continue to learn…
In the words of Thomas J. Watson, "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success."
Here, I would like to suggest some useful reading before you start publishing your work.[7]
 References | |  |
| 1. | Weber EJ, Callaham ML, Wears RL, Barton C, Young G. Unpublished research from a medical specialty meeting: Why investigators fail to publish. JAMA 1998;280:257-9. 
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| 2. | Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication. Available from: http://www.icmje.org/index.html. [Last updated on 2014 May 31].
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| 3. | Welch HG. Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: The paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 1999;2:131-7.
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| 4. | Wenzel V, Dünser MW, Lindner KH. A step by step guide to writing a scientific manuscript . Available from: http://www.aaeditor.org/StepByStepGuide.pdf. [Last accessed on 2014 May 31]
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| 5. | Wenzel V, Dünser MW, Lindner KH. How do I write an original article? An introduction for beginners. Anaesthesist 2007;56:828-36.
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| 6. | Huth EJ. How to Write and Publish Papers in the Medical Sciences. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 1998.
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| 7. | 2008-2009 Editorial Board, Anesthesia and Analgesia. 2009 Anesthesia and analgesia guide for authors. Anesth Analg 2009;109:217-31.
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| Authors | | |
Kundabala Mala
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